Rural retirement is a booming business. Manyelderly have always lived in rural environmentsand others seek to retire in a rural area. Smalltowns are specifically marketing themselves asappropriate for a quality retirement life at anaffordable price. New high-amenity rural retirementcommunities, particularly along coastal areas andlakes, are being constructed.

Most Americans do not move to a new communitywhen they retire, but of those who do, manysettle in a rural area or small town. Duringthe 1990s, a half million more persons who wereage 60 or older in 2000 moved into nonmetropolitan(nonmetro) counties than out of them. However, notall nonmetro counties are as attractive to retireesas others.

Todayís retirement areas are widely scattered acrossrural America. Warm winter areas have their appeal,but so, too, do many counties in the cold winterclimate of the Upper Great Lakes, or the uplands ofthe Ozarks and the southern Blue Ridge Mountains,especially around dam reservoirs.

Although retirement counties are defined only by thegrowth of their older population, they also tend tohave high overall population growth. From 2000 to2003, their total population grew by 4.8 percent,three times as fast as total U.S. nonmetro populationgrowth and faster than any other type of nonmetrocounty.

When we retire, we intend to spend most ofour time living in a rural area. We willlive on a small piece of property and haveneighbors, but the nearest small town willbe a 20-minute drive. We live in this ruralneighborhood part-time now. Here are someof the positive aspects of retirement in asmall town or rural community.

Low cost of living.

Food is slightly more expensive in the localgrocery stores. If we were to drive another30 minutes, we can find larger chain grocerieswith lower prices. But almost everything elsethat we purchase in our rural community is lessexpensive, including utilities, insurance, andmaintenance services. I attribute much of thatto the cost of real estate. Rural land is cheaper,homes cost less to build, and property taxes arelower compared to urban living. This tends toaffect other cost of living categories.

Peace and quiet.

Without fail, I sleep much better in the countrythan I do at our home in the suburbs. There isless noise and light pollution. At night, thebiggest glow is from the moon and stars. Manycity dwellers donít appreciate how sound andlight distractions affect us physiologically.Being in the country calms us.

Slowing the pace of life.

Life truly slows down in rural areas, andgenerally in a good way. The slower pacerelates to geography and practical living.For country folks, it takes longer to getfrom one place to the other. This causesyou to not go there as often. You stayaround home more, resisting the temptationto go shopping or somewhere else. In arural area most places are a lot fartheraway. Although it can be inconvenient todrive 25 minutes to a hardware or grocerystore, the overall slowness of rural livingis also something to savor.

Friendly people.

Folks in the country are just plain nice.The neighbors are genuinely friendly andhelpful. In the city, some neighbors arefriendly, some are competitive, and somewe don't even know. I appreciate thetransparency and kindness of small townand country people. Having friendlyneighbors makes it easy to overlook thenegatives of rural retirement living.

There are obvious downsides to livingin a rural area. But for a retiree,the benefits can outweigh them. A quietand relaxed retirement is a lifestylethat is worth considering.